Choices
by Ikonopeiston
Summary: A little bit AU. After the defeat of Vegnagun, things seem different to at least two of those who were in on the ending. Paine/Nooj


The characters and setting are the sole property of Square-Enix.

A/N - This is written in response to the prompt: "Reunion". It is either AU or not; I am no longer able to tell much of a difference. Note: I am still experimenting with style and mood. This story reflects that experimentation.

**CHOICES**

When Vegnagun had been rendered nothing more than scattered inert fragments spread over the various levels of its former citadel and the shades of Shuyin and Lenne had been Sent to whatever destination they had merited, a strange quiet settled over the scene. It was like the aftermath of a great explosion which leaves those surviving deafened and confused, drifting under a bell jar of unreality.

Yuna laid aside the Summoner's accoutrements and took a deep breath. Her job was finished. The menace was disarmed; those whose suffering had been the cause of the threat were at peace. Once again, she had saved Spira. Maybe this time if would stay calm. If not, she was prepared to take on the task of saving it again, and again, and again. It was her talent, after all.

The other members of the different teams were wandering around, trying to get their bearings now that the crisis was over. Rikku and Gippal were bent over the barely conscious body of Baralai, making sure he had incurred no permanent damage.

LeBlanc had been brushed up and groomed by her faithful henchmen and was fretfully demanding to know what had become of Nooj.

Left to herself, assured that her presence was not required anywhere else and still frozen in the unnatural silence of the ending, Paine retraced her steps to the second level of the last battleground. She reached her destination and looked over the grey world before her. To one side, just at the edge of her eye, a splash of scarlet burned against the dullness of the grey. He was still there.

Nooj was as she had last seen him, propped uneasily against the slight elevation of the platform. He watched her approach with an unfathomable, unblinking gaze.

"Where's Gippal? He left a while ago and I don't know where he went. Is he all right? Is Vegnagun dead? From the stillness, I would think so." He began speaking as soon as she came within earshot.

Paine knelt down beside him and laid a hand on his thigh. "You're right. Vegnagun is done for. Gippal? He's where he needs to be, tending to Baralai. How about you? Anything broken?" Their voices almost echoed in the silence only to be swallowed by that same hush.

"More than usual?" He laughed without humour. "No. All the parts seem to be workable. I just can't stand up."

"Your cane?"

"Somewhere around here, I think. The machina tore it out my grip at the start."

Paine had been glancing around as he spoke. "Here it is. Got it? Now, grab my arm and I'll pull you up."

"You're not strong enough to bear my weight."

She grinned down at him. "I've borne it before. Grab on."

With some effort and a great deal of cursing, the tall man was finally set on his feet. "Thank you. Without some way of levering myself up, I was stuck." He was still leaning heavily on her shoulder, whether from necessity or from choice was uncertain.

"You know, this is the first time you've ever let me help you." Paine laid her own calloused hand on top of his.

"Is it? I guess so. A lot of time has passed and a lot has changed. Maybe I've changed as well. You're different - stronger and more independent, I can see that."

"At least you're free of Shuyin. That has to be an improvement and I've had to fend for myself for a long time now. So you've changed, have you?" She tilted her head and looked at him from wide ruby eyes.

He turned to face her, his expression even more solemn than usual. "Yes, I'm not so stubborn nor so proud as I was back in the desert during the Crimson Squad trials. I've learned I sometimes need the support of those who choose to fight alongside me and I've taught myself to accept it."

"We've both grown up since those days. I'm less demanding of perfection and less tolerant of stupidity. I've learned that life is fleeting and must be savoured while we have it. Nooj, since we last met, I've lost some good friends and made some new ones. I've become a hunter again and not just an observer. You?"

"I've found myself the center and reluctant leader of a horde of idealists who believe they can change the world just by willing it so. Oh, they're ready to fight at the drop of a challenge, but they're dreamers all the same."

Paine smiled softly, her gaze turned inward, remembering. "Nothing wrong with that. We were idealists once."

"Speak for yourself, woman. I was never anything but a pragmatist."

"What about your romantic pursuit of Death?"

"That's not idealism, it's realism. I'm marked to die and we both know it."

She sighed, "So you haven't changed in that way?"

Nooj shook his head and looked across the featureless plain on which they stood. "No, not that way. Does it matter so much?"

"As I said, I'm less demanding of perfection these days and more willing to find my bed even among thorns and nettles. I assume you've removed the explosives from your nooks and crannies." She leaned into his embrace and laid her head against the familiar broad smooth chest, feeling rather than hearing the strong steady thud of his heart. "I've answered your question; now here's one for you - what do you want?"

He gathered her to him. "In one word - you. Back at the sealed entrance of the Den of Woe, I suggested that it might have been fate which brought us back together and you said you didn't think so. All right, to hell with fate! We have free wills. Let's choose to be better than we were, to treasure one another by our own choice." He tipped her head up and kissed her with a tenderness she had never found in him before.

"Nooj, you know I love you in spite of everything." She chose her words carefully, knowing that she was treading an uncertain path. The excessively formal phrases she used mirrored her hesitation. There was a strangeness lying between them at this moment. She took a deep breath, "Yes, I will choose to be with you, even if it's only until you can find Death."

"She'll find me in her own good time, until then, there will be us." He kissed her again.

Suddenly Paine stiffened in his arms. "LeBlanc! I cleanly forgot about LeBlanc!''  "What about her?"

"Isn't she your lover?"

Nooj made a disgusted noise, "Hah! She's chased me from one end of Spira to the other and with no encouragement from me. Paine, if for no other reason, will you have me to save me from that she-wolf?"

Paine let out a genuinely amused whoop and the strangeness between them evaporated like mist. "Man, you really have changed if you're ready to beg for help against LeBlanc. Will you let her down gently if I agree to take you on?" 

"Whatever you say. I've missed you like I miss my arm and leg; I'm not complete without you." He pulled her back into his embrace.

She stroked his cheek and then his lips, tracing the well-loved features. "Then go on and say it."

He looked puzzled for a minute, then his rare and beautiful smile illuminated his face. "Peerless woman, I adore you."

Two figures cast but a single shadow across a flower-spangled meadow where there had been a monotony of grey. Or perhaps it was only another strangeness, an illusion, a mirage that lovers alone may see.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

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